


Drugged

by Requested23



Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: Multi, To Be Continued
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 06:58:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1973268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Requested23/pseuds/Requested23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scientists have come up with a way to allow dhampirs to have children. But no one trusts that it works. Lissa realises that she must give the pill to someone close to her to get the dhampirs to see that it's ok. She chose me, Rose Belicov nee Hathaway but not everything went to plan...and now I'm stuck here, where no one can reach me and Dimitri is being prepared for his execution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

There it was, inside that ornate golden box, the one thing that would change my life forever. I took a hesitant step forward trying to keep my face neutral for the cameras. The cameras that would broadcast this event to all of the moroi and dhampirs around the world. But the truth was, I was more scared than I had ever been in my entire life. And that was saying something. This wasn't something I could fight, nor was it something I could intimidate, this was something that would change my life forever and there was nothing I could do to change that. That one pill before me could enable dhampirs to have children. I looked up into Lissa's eyes. She had changed so much since she had become queen, but even now, under the mask of hope I saw worry spread across her features. Sensing my lapse of concentration, Dimitri squeezed my hand. That was another thing that had changed since I became a guardian. I had married the love of my life but the only reason I had been allowed to marry him was because of what was happening now. My whole future seemed to revolve around this event.

So, with a hand that I could barely stop from trembling I reached out to pick up the small pill. The distance between the box and my lips seemed extraordinary long but at last the pill touched my lips. I took a deep breath and then I swallowed the pill, washing it down with a glass of water. It was like the whole world turned into slow motion as I was escorted out of the royal court. Just thirty seconds after I had taken the pill, all hell broke loose.

They attacked from everywhere killing everyone in their path. They walked over the dead bodies of those that had fallen as if it were a red carpet of blood all of them heading towards where Lissa sat. Instinctively I tried to position myself between them and her but Dimitri's tight grasp moved me on. We turned a corner and he pushed against a wall, revealing a secret passage.

"You remember what she said Roza, you safety is before hers now. I will come back for you when the battle is over but I have to go and protect her now." Dimitri's eyes were full of love and despair. "I love you Roza and I love our baby too, remember that."

And then the door began to shut confining me to my hiding place just as a strigoi came round the corner and grabbed Dimitri by his neck.

***

I awoke. Apparently at some point I had blacked out. My head throbbed and as I put my hand up to touch it, I felt a huge lump on the side of my head. Great, my life could hardly get any worse.

As my eyes accustomed to the gloom, I spotted a light switch near the door. I reached my hand up and pressed the switch illuminating the whole chamber with light. Even in my dire emotional state I could not help but gasp in amazement at the room before me. The room was fitted with all of the luxuries I could imagine much like in the main court, but better. I was standing in the middle of what looked like the sitting room but it had be altered slightly to accommodate the massive television into the small space. The sofas were a dark red and as I stepped on to the carpet I felt my feet sink into it. I explored the other rooms going through several narrow passages with sealed exits. The first room contained a small but amazingly comfortable bed and an equally big TV screen. In the second there was something better though, food. I had entered the kitchen through a trapdoor and unlike the other rooms in the hide out this one was massive. It spanned what I thought was the whole attic and had every type of tinned food that you could imagine. From lamb stew to Chinese all packed on shelves. I ran to the kitchen and heated up some curry and rice. But in my haste I barely warmed it - but it tasted good all the same.

The rest of the room was filled up with all kinds of technology. It would take me ages to work out what it was for. To start, I switched on the nearest small gadget. At least it had the standard 'on' button. It burst into life projecting huge amounts of light that blinded me at first.

"Rosemary Hathaway access granted," it said vibrating in my hand slightly.

"Right," I said a little perplexed

"Write," the machine said, "What would you like to write?"

"Oh dear," I said before clapping my hand over my mouth.

I thought for a second and then said, "I would like to know the whereabouts of Vasilissa Dragonmir."

"Still to be confirmed yet their tracking device is just outside the court."

Phew, she was probably ok. Then I took a deep breath and asked the question that I really didn't want to ask.

"Where is Dimitri Belicov?" I said my voice shaking

"Repeat the question please" it said in its annoying overly polite voice

"...Where is Guardian Dimitri Belicov?" I said trying to keep my voice steady

"Uncertain although my sources indicate he is in a cell inside the court and cell 3 has in fact been occupied recently."

"Alive?" I said automatically

"I am detecting a heart rate from cell 3 but I would urge you to watch the TV there is an emergency broadcast."

"Okay," I said and just like that the TV switched itself on.

Lissa's face filled the screen and I let out a sigh of relief. At least she was okay I guess that was something.

"My name is Vasalissa Dragonmir, the queen of vampire society. And wish to make an announcement. This is an emergency broadcast and so I don't think I have much time but I wish to tell you that there has been an attack and strigoi have attempted control of power. I urge you to resist as I am. And to follow the following instruct..." she was interrupted and what took her place was terrified me. Staring straight at me as if the TV wasn't there was two huge blood red eyes.

"In case you didn't hear the pretty little queen, I , Nickolas Mariachi have taken over and as you can see, I am strigoi and need feeding." He smiled an evil smile at the camera which made my blood run cold and my hairs stand on end.

"I might let some of you live if you are good to me. But those that fight against us won't live to see another day. The first pubic execution will be shown tomorrow at 10 o'clock when I will kill my own son who has tried to evade my race again and again. According to the latest guardian awards he is the best guardian currently living. So, once he is dead none of you have any chance whatsoever. Tomorrow," he winked, "I will kill Dimitri Belicov."

The words tore into me like knives but what was worse was the picture that appeared on the screen next. A dark prison cell with a body sprawled across the floor. The camera zoomed in and I saw the face of the man I love pale, and barely alive.

***

I spent the next few hours working as hard as I could to find a way out for Dimitri. I found a control room, which contained huge numbers of buttons, screens and lights that buzzed and blinked every few minutes. I fiddled with all of the settings but the most I accomplished was a power surge in one of the empty dormitories. Well, that was until an option appeared on the screen for an emergency air lock exit. Although it did seem a little disconcerting that it was positioned right underneath the self-destruct options. I would have to wait ten minutes for it to make sure the chamber was disinfected and danger free before getting into it and waiting another ten to get out. At least it was better than nothing.

I continued to read the fine print and found out that if I missed this air lock, I would have to wait another four hours before I could use it again.

'This had better work' I said selecting the option on the screen and pressing the green button. There was a whirring at the other end of the chamber and I nervously chewed my lip waiting and waiting….

The waiting is always the hardest part, I am not exactly the most patient person but when your husband is awaiting his death anyone would panic.

A bleeping sound came out of nowhere and the TV switched itself on. A huge smile filled the screen and, as the camera panned out the audience could see Nickolas' undeservedly handsome face along with Dimitri, bloodied, only half conscious and chained to a chair.

'Ehhemm,' Nickolas cleared his thought dramatically. This was all just some kind of performance to him and he was definitely enjoying it.

'Welcome back' he mocked 'In just a few minutes you see the futility of your kind. Did you really believe that you were controlling us by killing a few of our members here and there? Did you really believe that we would let you kill those of us who mattered the most?' He laughed and I could even hear the walls vibrate with agitation.

'Well it seems like you did… awkward, I know. So today I will show you a fair fight between our best,' he gestured to himself, 'and your best, he gestured towards Dimitri, to prove to you your are completely worthless.'

He ordered a few of his followers to unchain Dimitri and out of a small, gold chest he revealed a stake that oozed power and magic. It was forced into Dimitri's hand and he was thrown out of the chair causing the stake to roll across the floor. He didn't even have the strength to try and reach for it, but he lifted his fingers in that direction anyway as if he still had hope. If there was one thing about my husband that you should know, it's that he never gives up and believe me; I have experienced his persistence first hand.

Out of the corner of my eye I see the timer for the air lock, thirty seconds, could I get there in time? Was I strong enough? We'd have to see. I was sweating like the room was on fire. Suddenly a flash of blond hair I thought I recognized came into view on the TV.

'LISSA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!' I yelled every cell of my body screaming. The two people I loved the most were pretty much as good as dead.

'WHERE ARE YOUR GUARDIANS? SYDNEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?' I could no longer form any articulate sounds. Sydney used some magic and impressive acrobatics to cause all of Nickolas' followers to fall to the floor, either burnt or having some kind of induced coma. But then she too collapsed with exhaustion as Lissa circled Nickolas with what looked like a stake.

'No, Lissa you can't do that, please, no!' I shouldn't have worried; Nickolas sent the stake flying of in a random direction causing a huge clank noise as it hit the wall. Then he advanced.

BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP. The air lock was ready, I could escape! Or, I could try something that might not work…

'What do I do, WHAT DO I DO!'

BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP.

The doors to the air lock began to close. I had to choose, potentially save Lissa, or save my baby and me.

'They come first Rose, they come first'

I let the doors close and hit a button in the control centre programmed in the room number and sent a power surge towards where Lissa quivered, fangs closing in on her throat.

The intense light blinded Nickolas so with impressive skill, Lissa caused him to fall with one bash of a solid gold candlestick. Then with a semi-conscious Sydney, she dragged Dimitri out of the cell. There was no time for anything more. How would they even get out of there alive?

Time passed as I frantically searched for camera footage that might show any escape plan but then the air lock doors hissed. A tall, handsome figure emerged, wielding a fork above his head.

***

'Adrian?'

'Err… hey little dhampir,' he said awkwardly.

'Were you preparing to stab me with that fork or were you just practicing your statue of liberty pose?' I taunted, grinning.

'I'll have you know that this is actually a weapon of mass destruction.'

'What does it contain explosives or something?' I smirked.

He scoffed, 'you obviously haven't practiced in the art of forking yet. Don't worry, I'm a black belt, I can teach you.' He smiled as if he was remembering some moment he had in combat. He then tried to spin the fork in his fingers but it fell onto the floor of the air lock, making a loud clink in the process.

'Aren't you going to show me around your humble abode Rose? I should of known you would have a base situated behind enemy lines.' He then reached down, picked up the fork and tucked it into the waistband of his pants.

'This Moroi is armed and ready.'

'Well since I am going to have to spend four hours locked in here with you, I might as well.'

I showed him around the rooms but his eyes looked bored at all of the money that was flashed at every possibility. Had Adrian lost interest in money? No, that was impossible wasn't it? Having him around made things feel almost normal in these absurd circumstances and almost made me forget…

'Adrian, why are you here? How is Jill? Why is Sydney here? How could you leave them?' I felt the questions pour out of my mouth becoming more and more accusatory no matter how undeserved they were.

'Rose. Please calm down, Gill is fine, she is with Eddie and the rest of the crew. Sydney and I only came because Lissa needed our help. Help that would never have been granted by her dhampirs.'

'But why would you put Sydney in danger? Wait, was she using magic earlier?'

Adrian's eyes shifted around the room.

'You know Rose you could really use some air freshener in this room, I could recommend some if you would like.'

'Don't change the subject Adrian and when did you get so interested in air freshener? Are you even the real Adrian and not just some strigoi forcing a magic user to conjure a false image?'

'Wow Rose what's with all the questions are you really that hormonal?'

I scowled at him and let the subject drop. There were more important things that needed my attention right now.

I sat down in front of the screen and started switching through cameras again.

'I need to get myself one of these.' Adrian gawped at all the information on the screen.

'What does this do?'

'Don't touch Adrian.'

I slapped his hand away but not before he touched the screen. Suddenly a booming voice entered the room. We were able to hear the conversation that the strigoi were having.

'Master, we must send our forces after them straight away, we cannot afford to let them go,' a large strigoi said his gentle voice contrasting with his dramatic appearance. Nickolas brandished his hand immediately rejecting the idea.

'No, no we must make them believe that we are stronger than they think. I have a much better idea, we are going moroi hunting and we are going to broadcast the sport for the whole society to see.'

Adrian's face was pale, too pale even for a moroi. It was as if he had died and been brought back as a ghost.

'Adrian,' I waved my hand in front of his face. 'What's wrong, we already knew they were hunting them.'

He gulped.

'Rose, this is far worse than anything they have done before. A moroi hunt is a hunt in which all strigoi join together and make a game out of killing moroi. There are no rules and the moroi are hopelessly outnumbered. Its similar to herding sheep only it's fear stimulated and the end result is torturous and bloody.'

'How do you know all of this?'

'I was once in one of them. The girl I was with got killed but I managed to get away.'

We both stared into space for hours after that reflecting on the horror that our lives had become. But we awoke with a 'BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP.'

I jumped up dragging Adrian along with me.

'The air lock is ready.' At least something was working. 'Come on Adrian'

The air lock was only designed for one person so we were pressed up against each other as the doors hissed shut.

'You know Rose, a few years ago I would have longed to have been pressed up against you like this in a small space.'

'Yeah, so what's changed?' I retorted.

He looked around sheepishly.

'I guess I moved on.'

'Who's the lucky lady?'

'She beautiful, smart and she is the only one who can really see the full potential in me. I don't think you know her she's called … Taylor.'

Then the doors hissed open.

Outside was a strigoi staring straight at us. Her head tilted to the side as she bared her fangs.

'Hello, Rose, Adrian.' She nodded at us as if she was being polite.

'Tasha…'

***

'Tasha, what did you do?'

She looked down at her nails as if she was bored,

'Oh, you know, killed a moroi and embraced immortality. You guys are really missing out on a lot.'

Adrian remained silent, his eyes bright with flames and hatred. He was like an avenging angel from heaven.

'Moroi used to really underestimate my abilities; it didn't exactly take much to do what I did. Right now, I'm in my prime, for all those years I thought that my sister and her husband did the worst thing they could have done, but I was wrong. Killing Tatiana even got me into the elite strigoi group and what's the point in democracy anymore when you can take what you want.'

I saw a flash of silver out of the corner of my eye; Adrian drove his fork through Tasha's neck with a blaze of anger.

'Oh Tasha, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce my friend of mass destruction,' Adrian smiled cruelly, and then he winked at me.

'You can't stop me!' gasped Tasha

Adrian ignored her, 'Are you willing to admit you were wrong about my fork?'

'Adrian, what are you going to do now, grab a knife and eat her for dinner?'

'Not exactly, although we should go through the dining hall on our way out. She isn't dead, the fork has no magic and I didn't behead her, she has just been slowed down. We should probably run.'

'Probably,' I counteracted, I really missed my silver stake.

***

 

Lissa

Dimitri's weight seemed to get heavier and heavier by the minute and I could see that I was losing Sydney. We were moving as fast as we could but we could only really manage a slow stumble through the court. We weren't going to make it, that was the sad truth. The only thought that kept me going was the fact that I knew Rose was relying on me.

'What would Rose do?' I thought. She would probably fight her way out or, failing that, she would find somewhere safe to hide. They weren't in good enough shape to do any kind of fighting but here they had the home advantage, there must be somewhere to hide.

'In here,' I gasped, the words barely escaping my lips.

We entered a small room on our right; a janitor's closet that I knew was filled with all sorts of chemicals.

'But there is no shelter in here,' said Sydney.

'No, there isn't but we need the chemicals to mask our scent. We will just have to hope they don't look in here.' I set Dimitri down softly among some mops before tipping out a bottle of chemicals, hoping they weren't very toxic; at least there was an air vent. That was when I heard some heavy footsteps outside of the door.

Rose

Lissa needs me. Three words that echoed in my head as Adrian frantically ran down the maze of corridors. I was also getting flashbacks of the maze in Russia but I pushed these out of my head. I had one goal only and that was get...suddenly we turned round a corner and bumped into a group of people dressed in camouflage green, I drew my silver knife that I had grabbed from the dining room and jumped the nearest one before realising that they were not strigoi.

'Sorry' I muttered awkwardly, realising I was straddling a moroi. Adrian gave me one of his impish grins before turning to a girl who was looking slightly annoyed.

'So...who are you?' he asked.

'That it Sophia,' said a tall brooding guy behind her with a strong Chinese accent. 'I'm Harvey, this is Jacob,' pointing to a reasonably short moroi next to him 'Quinn,' he indicates the guy who was getting himself up off the floor glaring at me '...and Finnley.'

'Just call me Finn,' a guy to my right said. His English accent immediately apparent.

'Wait are you fake naming me?' Adrian asked Harvey, 'because I haven't met any Chinese person who ever had a name like that.'

'They aren't exactly our birth names,' he said 'if we told you our actual identities you could give the information to the strigoi who would hunt us down. Instead we are given names suitable for our roles. Harvey means battle-worthy.' He stepped forward as if to threaten Adrian who just carried on grinning.

Sophia eventually spoke up, breaking the silence.

'Well we know that you are obviously Rose Hathaway and Adrian Ivashcov.'

'How do you know are names,' I asked confused.

'Well you are the one who was just televised to all of the Moroi and Dhampirs all over the world,' I flinched; I wasn't going to get used to international recognition.

'What about me,' Adrian said.

'We have files on you, as we have with all of the royals,' she said 'and yours is quite lengthy due to your adventurous exploits.'

The guy I think was called Quinn snorted as she said this but stopped after she gave him a look. She was obviously the one in charge.

'Ooh, are you like vampire secret agents or something,' Adrian's eyes lit up.

'No, we're The Elite, just a secret organisation that is sent to hunt down the worst and oldest Strigoi.' She said it like she was just stating a fact but I could tell she loved saying that.

'So what are you doing here?' I asked.

'We serve our queen and she is in mortal danger,' with that she walked in-between us unsheathing a gleaming silver stake. The others followed in her wake leaving us shocked and staring after them.

***


	2. Chapter 2

Rose  
‘Wait!’ Adrian yelled after the group. ‘We can help.’  
Quinn turned around to face him, his expression unimpressed.  
‘Yeah I‘m sure you can’ he said sarcastically. ‘Just like you could tell me that there are eight hundred and fifty possible exit roots in the court and that each one is monitored by a motion sensor. Oh or maybe you could tell me that Lissa is one of the few spirit users currently known and could compel one single strigoi in under 2.1 seconds, only one second more than it would take for him to snap her neck.’  
‘Quinn will just shut up for once and let him talk!’ yelled Finn, ‘we don’t have much time as it is.’  
‘The strigoi have just turned this into a moroi hunt.’ Adrian stated solemnly, the words making him more miserable than he already was. ‘That means there are no safe exit points, no safe corridors and elaborate traps waiting around every corner. This is a game to them. The only freedom we do have, is the freedom to move and right now we can’t be sure that they aren’t controlling that as well, we could be playing straight into their hands.’ That shut them up.  
‘Sophia, don’t worry about this,’ Harvey said, his voice steady and sure. ‘I will kill every last one of them and get us out of here alive and well.’  
‘You may be a warrior Harv, but we have been tracking some of these strigoi for months and you know that only the best are inside these walls. Not even you could beat them all.’  
‘I guess we had better join forces then?’ I suggested. If there was one person in this room who I trusted with my life other than Adrian, it would be Sophia. She seemed like the type who would kill ten strigoi without even breaking a sweat.  
‘Well I’m sure we could use you, I’m just not so sure about Adrian here.’  
‘Hey!’ he said. 'I am probably the most valuable asset here. I can be used as bait, I can be used to disguise people and without anyone suspecting a thing.'  
‘Alright, you’re in.’  
We spent the next hour or so crammed in a small alcove in the corridor discussing tactics with Harvey standing guard. It seemed a little strange to me since I was so used to diving in to save Lissa but with the situation at hand I thought that Sophia’s method was probably for the best.  
An incredibly detailed map was revealed with parts of the courts I never even knew existed planned out to the tiniest detail. We marked a small cross where we were and then Sophia asked each member of her group for their plan, starting with her most trusted; Finn and finishing with her least; Quinn.  
‘Our first priority is locating the queen, after that we should reassess our situation and formulate a plan. As for her whereabouts, I think Rose should be able to guide us, she did once know every thought in her head after all.’ It was strange to be talked about by Finn, someone I hardly knew and yet I’m sure he knew every intimate detail about my life.  
Harvey briefly turned his head to state him opinion. ‘My vote is to clear a safe exit before locating the queen so that should a dangerous situation arise we have an exit strategy.’  
Sophia gave him a nod before turning to Jacob, the quiet, Australian moroi sitting in the back.  
‘I think we should disguise ourselves as strigoi and infiltrate their ranks.’  
‘You know that would never work for you again.’ Sophia said ‘ I am sure a lot of strigoi here will know us, they are the ones that got away after all and we don’t have the right equipment to do that. Okay Quinn, it’s your turn. What stupid idea do you have this time.’  
‘It’s not stupid. What I am proposing to do is to find a room we can use as a stronghold, somewhere we can get in but the strigoi can’t and locking it down. Then we split into two groups. The first will be made up of Harvey, Adrian and I and the second you, Rose, Finn and Jacob. Our group will tamper with the announcement system, using Adrian to draw the strigoi to a certain place whilst your group will be moving around with Rose’s help trying to find our queen. Our distraction should keep most of the strigoi busy as they will believe this highly sought after royal is an easy catch, leaving you to move around more freely. We will then meet back at the stronghold at 1200 hours hopefully with the queen and everyone else still intact to plan and execute our exit strategy.’  
There was a long pause. Everyone seemed shocked at both the detail of the plan and that he had managed to say it without visibly breathing.  
‘I’m with Quinn on this one, for once.’ Sophia announced, they really didn’t seem to like him much. ‘But I am counting on each and every one of you to come back alive. Do you hear me?’  
‘Yes Sophia, we are The Elite together and we will stay The Elite together.’ They all muttered just like guardians said the mantra.  
‘Good, we wouldn’t want the next crop graduating too soon.’  
It was obviously something they said before each assignment and it was something I desperately wished would stay true. If there was one chance of getting out of here alive, it was The Elite.’

Sydney

‘Two hundred and ninety nine’ I muttered, under my breath ‘Three hundred.’  
As I said the final number I heard the footsteps again outside the door. There was a district lack of breathing as they passed it for what seemed like the millionth time.  
‘They pass every five minutes,’ I said ‘it must be some kind of patrol.’  
‘Do you think they know we are in here?’ Lissa looked at me expectantly like I knew the answer to everything.  
‘Um, my best guess is that they don’t. If they did they would forget patrols and just wait outside until we thought it was safe to come out.’  
Sweat was dripping down my face. I had just got used to hanging out with the normal vampires and now I had to deal with the truly evil ones. Any other Alchemist would probably be dead by now. Except I wasn’t an alchemist, I was just a girl who was in love with a vampire posing as an alchemist who also did a bit of human magic on the side but that is a bit of a mouthful.  
Suddenly I heard a cough behind me and I turned quickly desperate to suppress the sound. I was relieved to find that it had been Dimitri; he was finally rising from his stupor.  
‘What’s going on?’ he managed before entering into a coughing fit.  
I rammed my hand over his mouth. As much as he needed to breathe, our silence was the only thing keeping us alive at this point.  
‘shh,’ I whispered, pulling my hand away slowly only to reveal he had been coughing up his own blood. Even for a half vampire who had a faster ability to heal than a human, this was definitely not good. Due to the bruising on his chest there was a high possibility that he had some internal bleeding.  
‘We need to get him some medical attention’ I whispered to Lissa, not wanting Dimitri to hear.  
‘How good are your medical skills?’ Lissa asked hopefully.  
I groaned. The problem with going to school was that I was behind on some of the more advanced skills that my dad had taught me, medicine being one of them.  
‘There is one thing...’ I began.  
‘Do it.’  
‘It would take a lot out of me,’  
‘Do it Sydney, if not for me for Rose.’  
I took a deep breath and began whispering the incantations for the healing spell I had recently learnt. It was something of a switch. I would take some of his pain and he would get some of my health.  
‘Wow Sydney!’  
‘It’s not the time Lissa, we need to get out of here before it wears off. The patrol will be round in the next thirty seconds. We need to leave as soon as he passes, do you have somewhere we can go.’  
Lissa nodded, ‘the library.’  
‘As much as I love learning Lissa, there are times when it is not exactly suitable. I’m not sure that would be the best place for us to be.’  
‘No there is a secret room there, built to hide from...the Alchemists.’  
‘Seems like my kind of place’

Adrian

‘Okay boys where do we go? Have you got a particular place in mind?’ It was strange how often I had said that whilst out partying and without realising it, I had just used the same line in an incredibly dangerous situation.  
‘The main security control room.’ Quinn replied. For someone who acted pretty stupid he sure was smart.  
‘Adrian are you coming.’ It was Harvey, damn I really needed to focus.  
Ok Adrian, this is it. This is your moment to be a secret agent. I swiftly moved after Harvey and Quinn holding my silver, slightly bloodied fork like a gun.  
‘Agent Jet Steele armed and ready’ I did a summersault out of the door, pulling a muscle in the process.  
‘Adrian, hurry up’  
‘Don’t worry, Agent Steele is on his way.’  
I began to run, catching up with the others and mimicking their stealthy moves down the hallways. We hadn’t gone far when the lights went out.  
‘Quinn, lights.’ Harvey ordered.  
Two tiny fireballs came out of his hands, illuminating the who corridor and the pack of Strigoi at its end, all staring in our direction.  
The leader seemed to take a deep breath as we froze and, from the other end of the corridor, blew out our lights.  
‘Lunchtime boys.’ He snarled.  
That is when we ran into the nearest room and barricaded ourselves in.  
Quinn’s lights came on again showing how his moroi face was paler anything I had ever seen. The lights also showed the pretty heavy door and no other exits.  
‘What are you gonna do now,’ I yelled. ‘Because you can’t huff and puff and blow this door down.’ It may have been childish but that is how I get when I am scared.  
The only thing that cheered me up was the realization that we were in a kitchen and on a shelf was one of those torches used on crème brûlée. With Quinn’s fire, my torch and Harvey’s stake we would be fine.  
Harvey and Quinn stared at my find before nodding and turning to each other.  
‘Harvey... we have been stuck in some pretty bad situations, but none quite as bad as this and in case we die there is just one thing I need to tell you.’  
That was when he leaned in and kissed Harvey. I definitely hadn’t seen that one coming.

***

 

Adrian

'Quinn what are you doing!'  
Harvey's impression of getting mad wasn't very good acting but I let him try anyway. It wasn't someone who was going to force him out of the closet.

'Guys can we get over the dramatics and just kill all of these bloodthirsty strigoi ...please?' I said, trying to stay patient.

They both looked at me like I was completely mad before the pounding on the door brought them back down to earth. The pounding on the door was getting louder by the second and the room we were stuck in was getting a little claustrophobic.

'On the count of three I am going to open the door and we will all attack,' I said. 'Are we all ready? 3...2...1...GO!' 

I opened the door and suddenly Quinn's fire was all I could see, it's sheer size and intensity limiting my vision. It was as if I had been sent into a fiery abyss but without being burnt at all. That was when all the fire ended and I saw the charred remains of the strigoi and a few lying around on the floor with gaping stake shaped wounds in their chest. Only one was still alive. 

'Harvey just kill him already.' Quinn yelled.  
'This beast just tried to turn me, he deserves to suffer for at least a bit.'  
Quinn's voice softened as he saw the crazed look in Harvey's eyes. 'He was alive once too Harv. Give him at least the dignity of an easy death.'  
'I don't need an easy death, I am not going to die at all, I have lived one hundred years and you are going to be the ones dying toni...'  
That was when Harvey plunged the stake into the strigoi's chest, tears streaming down his cheeks. Someone he had loved must have been turned once. 

I looked down at my crème brûlée burner. It was emitting a tiny flame that was pathetic in comparison to the flames amassed by Quinn. I knew I had just been a bystander in this fight and subtly tried to put the burner back. The problem is I'm not that great at being subtle.

Rose

‘Ok guys...’ I started before being cut off by Sophia. I wasn’t used to having other people in control.  
‘We need to track down any locations that Lissa would feel safe in so that we can locate them. Rose is there anywhere you can think of that she liked to spend a lot of time?’  
‘Probably just the Library and the church when she...’  
‘Ok we are going to split up. Finn, Jacob, you take the church and Rose and I will go tot the Library. If you don’t find them come and join us, we will be waiting for you.’  
Finn and Jacob gave that serious nod before tapping their tattoos on their wrists, some kind of good luck charm or sign of respect? I had no chance to ask as they were soon gone from my field of vision.

‘Rose, I need you to stay calm and hang back on this one. I know that you have had training but believe me, I have had more. Whatever you have been through, I have been through worse and you are also too emotionally invested in this to make good decisions. I am counting on you to watch my back ok? So don’t let me down.’ She turned away, moving stealthily along the dimly lit hallway that was decorated in Lissa’s colours of green and gold. As much as I thought that Sophia was a great leader her patronizing tone pissed me off a little bit. But I guess we had the same goal so I had better listen to someone for once in my life.


	3. Chapter 3

‘Ok so you just stay in this room and wait for Dimitri and Lissa here,’ Sophia told me, leaving me in a small sitting room off the main corridor. ‘Once I clear the route I’ll be back for you.’  
‘Fine, just don’t be long.’ I muttered, I hated being left behind.   
She strode out of the door as if she was just going out for some errands rather than going into a war zone. I collapsed in a chair. 

I looked at the clock, it had only been five minutes but I was getting impatient. I mean if it were me out there I would either be dead at this point or the strigoi would all be slaughtered. Ok Rose, there is nothing to worry about, everything will be fine. Lissa, Dimitri and everyone else will all turn up here just fine. The problem was I am just not very good at convincing myself. I wish Lissa was here to compel me.  
‘Screw it,’ I whispered, gently turning the door handle and peaking out of the door. The coast was clear so I snuck down the corridor in the stealthy way that Dimitri had taught me all those years ago. Not that I hadn’t already perfected it on my own thanks to all those parties I had snuck out to go to. 

Suddenly I heard the low murmur of voices round the next bend. My heart was racing inside my chest. It scared me just how exhilarated I felt at the prospect of killing even if these were evil beings. I was an evil being to Sydney once. I took a deep breath and looked around the corner, melting into the shadows. What I saw terrified me. Sophia was talking to the strigoi. 

She was gesturing round the corner to what I can only assume was directions to the room I was just in. That is when she saw me. 

‘GET HER,’ she yelled. Crap.  
Fortunately for her she had made a huge mistake in giving me one of her silver stakes. I guess she figured I couldn’t take all of them at once. How wrong she was. My stake slashed and stabbed and once again I felt the extension to my arm that it had become. The fury fuelled my fight. Sophia was going to regret this. 

By the end I was covered with sweat and smeared with strigoi blood. I was staring at Sophia standing on a pile of strigoi bodies. 

‘Why didn’t you join your buddies here?’ I asked wanting her to fight me. It was that much harder just lunging for someone when they were one of your own: a dhampir.   
‘I didn’t want to ruin my outfit of course,’ she sniggered.  
‘I just can’t work out why you would do it with all your training. Going against your own kind is the lowest of the low.’  
‘Ah Rose, you’re so naïve. I’m not a dhampir, I’m fae.’


End file.
